Why hammocks are best for an afternoon nap

[Still Waters]

The mystery of why it is virtually impossible to lie in a gently rocking hammock without falling asleep has been solved by scientists.

An analysis of the brain waves of sleeping subjects revealed that a slow swinging motion both helps us fall asleep faster and slip into a deeper sleep than in a stationary bed.

The findings also help to explain the age-old belief that cradling a baby will send it off to sleep, and why it is so difficult to stay awake in a rocking chair.

The study, published in the Current Biology journal, found that lying on a slowly rocking bed helped each subject in a small test group fall asleep more easily, and spend longer in a deeper stage of sleep.

The Swiss scientists who carried out the research suggested that the swinging motion’s effect on our senses could help synchronise our brain activity into a pattern associated with sleep.

Sophie Schwartz, of the University of Geneva, one of the study’s co-authors, said: “It is a common belief that rocking induces sleep: we irresistibly fall asleep in a rocking chair and, since immemorial times, we cradle our babies to sleep.

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[questionmark]

I always knew that my afternoon nap was healing. My hammock hangs in the front patio of my house.

[nativechick1989]

I'll have to get myself a hammock.